Past Perfect Tense

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Past perfect tense is used to indicate a past action that had been completed before another definite time or event in the past.

Ways to form the Past Perfect Tense

Affirmative Sentence

The formula for Past Perfect Tense Affirmative Sentence is as such:

Subject + had + Verb (past participle / 3rd form) + Object (optional)

Example:

I had finished my homework.
He had gone to work.

Negative Sentence

The formula for Past Perfect Tense Negative Sentence is as such:

Subject + had + Not + Verb (past participle form) + Object (optional)

Example:

You had not watched a movie.
She had not gone to school.

Interrogative Sentence

The formula for Past Perfect Tense Interrogative Sentence is as such:

Had + Subject + Verb (past participle form) + Object (optional)

Example:

Had I finished my homework?
Had she gone to school?

Negative Interrogative Sentence

The formula for Past Perfect Tense Negative Interrogative Sentence is as such:

Had + Subject + Not +Verb (past participle form) +Object (optional)

Example:

Had you not just watched a movie?
Had he not gone to work every day?

Uses of Past Perfect Tense

The Past Perfect Tense is mainly used as:

1. To talk about a completed action before another action of the past

For example

I finished my homework before I had gone to play football.
You broke your leg before I had arrived.

2. To talk about unfulfilled desires in the past

For example:

I wish I had completed graduation.
He wishes he had done apprentice.

3. To talk about the impossible condition of the past

For example:

If she had completed graduation, her life would have better.
If he had done apprentice, the interview result would have differed.

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